


Where She Belongs

by iulienfulpi



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26695018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iulienfulpi/pseuds/iulienfulpi
Summary: April after the break-up during the lock-in. She's not sorry. She knows who she is, what she has to be. She'll be fine.
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 12
Kudos: 70





	1. After the Lock-In

**Author's Note:**

> I love April, but I really do believe she has a lot more capacity to keep the Miss Young Republican (h/t @paddingtonfan69) act going a lot longer than we want her to, and of course it's certainly not impossible to be a conservative lesbian). Of course, writing this from her perspective, I think she would change her mind quite quickly, it would be too much of a heart break if she didn't!

”Actually – I don’t know.”

April had managed to keep a stiff upper lip, as the Brits called it. Keep her cool, say goodbye and walk back to take her place at the lock-in. Where she belonged. Fellowship leader, admired classmate, good daughter, the perfect Christian teen. She had a persona. It was her, in a very real sense. One crazy week with Sterling did not change that. She could go back to the way things were, until they didn’t need to be that way anymore.  
It should be easy.

Lorna and Franklin stumbled out of a storage closet just as she was walking back to resolve whatever issue Hannah B and Ezequiel had conjured out of thin air this time. Both had muzzled hair, and Lorna’s ridiculous might-as-well-be-lingerie getup looked like it had been through a war.

They froze, looking at April. Her expression contorted into her well-trained façade of haughty disgust. “I would suggest you spend some more time thinking about modesty, Lorna.” Her gaze shifted to encompass them both. “And the dangers of falling into sin, like Luke and St- like the Wesleys. You better sort yourselves out before you show yourself back in the common room.” April left them behind to their pathetic attempt to cover up their sin before they returned to their classmates.  
Which reminded her to find a restroom before meeting up with Hannah B and Ezequiel. Ezequiel was far too good at noticing when she was not at her best. Wouldn’t do to show up with eyes traitorously puffy. She turned in just as she saw the door to the common room, locked the door, and scrutinized herself in the mirror.

She was fine. She didn’t look like Lorna, that was for sure. Eyes weren’t red and puffy or filled to the brim with tears. Not like St- She was fine. She could focus on the task at hand. Pull off the rest of the lock-in, talk to Hannah B and Ezequiel about Lorna and Franklin, and show Ellen that she was perfectly in control. Because she was. In school, she was the Queen Bee. At home, she was the perfect daughter to mom and John. She could do this as long as she needed to.

“That was so much fun! Everyone had such a good time. I can’t believe Franklin would sneak off like that with someone! He seemed so pure and righteous. Someone told me he preached to Luke in the boys’ locker room after he got caught out as a… f-word.”

April didn’t respond to Hannah B’s excited chatter. It was rather soothing, especially this morning. She wasn’t sure why she felt so tired. It had been like any other event at school after the meeting with Sterling in the parking lot. Luke had moved over to some of his golf friends when she came back to the common room, and she had noticed him looking at her now and then with a strangely confused look, maybe she would even call it haunted if she had not seen worse recently. She had decided to not expend any energy on it.

“Are you okay, April? Did you not enjoy the lock-in?” April snapped out of her reverie and replayed a little bit of the conversation in her mind.  
“It went very well, I think. I did try to warn everyone about Twister, but I guess Lorna and Franklin just would not listen. We always have to keep on guard for temptation.” She hoped Hannah B wouldn’t notice that she had not actually answered the question.

“But doesn’t that make him a hypocrite?”

“I suppose,” April said, a bit surprised that observation would come from Hannah B of all people, “but I think you have to say the righteous thing to a person even if there is the risk that you yourself will fall to the same temptation. Otherwise none of us can be our… sibling’s keeper, since none but Christ can be without sin. The bad thing would be to not hold yourself to the same standard if you do stray.” The low hum of the engine was the only sound that could be heard for a while as Hannah B turned this around in her head.

Instead of responding to what April had said, she skipped over to another topic. “I wonder what happened to the Wesleys last night. I’m not surprised Blair didn’t show up, but Sterling just left! That’s strange.”

April turned her head toward the car window and paused for a second. Her thoughts had started drifting to what her life was when so much time was spent on Sterling, and her membership in the Straight-Straight Alliance seemed to call her attention for some reason. “Blair probably got into trouble as usual and she had to go bail her out. They are so codependent. But they are their sibling’s keeper, I suppose.” She finished with a little smile, as she thought of all the times Blair had stood up for Sterling or had her back, often against April herself. Even when they were a secret and Blair had taken their flirting as some kind of bullying scheme. When Sterling had smiled at her. She fixed her gaze out the window and focused on the vibrations of the car on her temple.

“Good morning, honey,” John said from his seat at the kitchen table. The Wall Street Journals had been piling up since his arrest. Her mother had not been that interested in… well, much of anything since John was arrested. April could appreciate a physical newspaper at times, but she was also under 35.

“Hi, daddy.” She said with a smile. “Did you have a good night back home?”

“I sure did, it feels good being back where I belong. I’m going to go to the club today, meet some of the boys, and see what folks think of me. I’m sure some ‘woke’ people won’t respect the fact that I was wrongfully imprisoned, but those are not the kind of folks we need as friends, do we?” He looked at her with such a normal expression, as if he were not talking about having been charged with assault on a sex worker. What’s the correct way to come back to your family after that, though? The charges had been dropped, and that meant something, surely? Nevertheless, he was still with a sex worker when he was married to her mother. That might be less loathsome, but it was, nevertheless, loathsome. John was a cheater. And a john.

“I’m sure it will go great, daddy.” The smile started to feel a bit plastered on.

“How was y’all’s lock-in yesterday? Since a Stevens was in charge, I cannot imagine anything going wrong:” he said with a proud smile.

“We had a wonderful time. Everyone seemed to like the movie, Hannah B and Luke played the guitar for a singalong, and it was a lot of wholesome fun.” She responded with a bit more genuine pleasure in her voice. She did not mention anything about the Wesley twins that John had, for some reason, gained some kind of interest in.

“That’s excellent, honey, you keep leading by example. It’s the Stevens way.” He looked at her fondly. “Say, how about a movie night tonight? I was really missing my Padawan while I was gone.”

“Of course, daddy. I always have time for Star Wars with you.” John nodded with satisfaction and seemed to return to his newspaper.

April refilled her water bottle and was just about to head upstairs when John asked, his eyes still intent on the newspaper, “Isn’t Luke that boy your ‘nemesis’ Sterling Wesley is together with?”

April froze. “They broke up, daddy. I’m not sure what the Wesleys were doing last night.”

John didn’t look at her, and only responded with a “Hmmm.” April went up the stairs, feeling unsettled.

She had made a lot of plans for the day, like every day. Studying, planning out the upcoming schedule for Fellowship, sending out invitations for the Young Republicans, and… the other organizations she was in the leadership of. But right now, she just felt bone-tired, in a way she had never really felt before. Not even right after John had been arrested when her life was in an uproar. She avoided falling on her bed, she knew disaster lay down that path. Instead she sat down in her desk chair and swiveled around to look in the mirror.

Fellowship leader, admired classmate, good daughter, the perfect Christian teen. Was this her life?


	2. Argue the Affirmative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally tagged this as having 1/1 chapter at first!

April had always considered Forensics to be her favorite extra-curricular. Obviously it was part of the plan to get to a top university (Go Dawgs might have been a religion in her household, but some things were malleable), but it was also about competition, individual achievement within a team, and intellectually stimulating. It was also about setting aside your own opinions and arguing opposing perspectives. In a sense, it turned interactions into a game where you could argue the affirmative or the negative for any issue. When your entire life got overturned and the solid foundations you had depended on crumbled into dust, it turned out to be a very good way to make it through the day.

At the breakfast table: John Stevens’ life and interests matter, argue the affirmative.

At school:  
April Stevens is the Queen Bee and given center of the student body, argue the affirmative.  
Other students’ aspirations and desires matter, argue the negative, mostly.  
The Young Republicans and The Straight-Straight Alliance are saving America from PC culture run amok, argue the affirmative.  
Blair Stevens is on a collision course with you in the hallway, hide in the bathroom.

So it doesn’t always work. Blair had been relatively quiet in school since the lock-in. April had been deliberately avoiding her, because some things a barrier of debate tactics was not likely to withstand. In the morning classes they had together, Blair always looked tired and often had red eyes, as if she had been crying. She usually got more energy over the course of the day, and in the afternoon you could sometimes hear her trademark annoying outbursts in class or during recess. Blair had been out of school for a week after the lock-in.

Sterling- Sterling had not been to school at all since then, and the famed rumor mill seemed completely clueless. She had heard Luke in Spanish class ask Blair how her sister was doing and when she was coming back to school. Unsurprisingly, this turned into a long digression about Chloe’s dietary habits. It was an obvious but very effective diversion, just like when Sterling had used it. Blair avoiding the question and there being no word was worrisome, however. Not that April expected being informed about anything Sterling did. Ever again.

“I am so excited about the Day of Action tomorrow!” Emma-Lee, the freshman in the Straight-Straight Alliance, said, interrupting April’s reverie. “It feels good doing something important and not just talking about issues with folks who agree. We need to meet other students and make them aware!”

It took a second for April to go into affirmative-mode. “Yes, Emma-Lee, you can never be sure that even a Christian institution like Willingham will be safe from GLSEN and other propaganda organs. Will you get the table and the materials ready tomorrow morning?” April hoped her smile looked more natural than it felt. She would be more prepared tomorrow.

“Of course, April! I know you have lots to do for fellowship, and I’m getting an early ride tomorrow.” Emma-Lee’s smile, on the other hand, was all sincerity. April could remember when she was passionate about all her extra-curriculars, rather than just having the pride of a job well done.

Speaking of a job well done… “Let’s go through some of the material and questions we might have to answer tomorrow. Hannah B will come pick me up to go to the gym soon.”

The gym was a bit out of their way when going home, but it was an important routine for both of them outside of school and studying. Hannah B usually went to a group fitness class, but April had quickly learned that she preferred having more control over her workout and put together a program together with a personal trainer. Focusing on her technique and the way her body moved made her feel in control and calm that she otherwise only felt sometimes while praying. She had tried meditating with Hannah B once and she had found out that her mind did not react well to silence.

Today her mind was not as fully consumed by the task as usual, though. Between sets she found herself using her thumbs to touch the tips of her fingers, and how they had felt in a sweaty embrace in the back of a Volt a mere month ago. A couple of times she caught herself looking at her slightly toned arms in the mirror and wondering if… someone would find them attractive.

On the way home she waited until they had passed the first intersection to tell Hannah B, “Let's go to the Chick-Fil-A, I want to get a small shake. I think we have earned it.”

“Oooh! Or we could go to that yogurt place that’s close by! I’ve been meaning to try it.” Hannah B responded excitedly.

“Maybe next time, Hannah B, I am really in the mood for a shake today, though. You need to turn right here.” April said, trying to not sound annoyed. Ezequiel’s reactions this semester had made her aware that she might sometimes be a bit too bossy, even though there was nothing wrong with being forceful. There were people who seemed to appreciate it quite a bit, in fact.

“Sure, April, but I really need to make sure it’s a small one, then.” Hannah B responded while turning.

The shortest way to Chick-Fil-A went through, rather than around, part of the suburban area around Willingham. April tried too not look to intently out the window as they went down a familiar road.

“Isn’t this where the Wesleys live?” Hannah B said and started slowing down. “What do you think is up with Sterling?” she asked while outright gawking at the house.

“I wouldn’t know, Hannah B, and stop that, you look ridiculous.” April said, feeling a blush spreading across her face. She was definitely not checking every window of the house you could see from the road. She could see Sterling’s father through one of the downstairs windows, and what was that shadow in a room upstairs?

“It just seemed like you were talking more to Sterling before the lock-in, and I’m too scared to ask Blair the way she’s looking most days, so I thought maybe you had heard something…” She speeded up past the house. “Sorry for asking.”

April looked out the passenger side window and took a deep breath as the house disappeared from view. “Never mind. I don’t know anything about Sterling.”

“What the FUCK are you doing?”

April looked up at the furious face of Blair Wesley from her seat at the Straight-Straight Alliance’s Day of Action campaign table and smiled serenely. Today she was prepared for debating the affirmative. “A school-approved information campaign for our fellow students, Blair, what does it look like?”

“It looks like a bunch of homophobic and transphobic garbage, April! Have you even read the shit you’re giving out to people? ‘Keep our bathrooms safe’? How can you…” Blair’s eyes flicked over to Emma-Lee sitting next to April and hesitated. “This is some bullshit, even from you, Stevens.”

Before April could respond Emma-Lee piped up beside her, “This is about stopping big lobbying organizations from coming to our state and pushing their agenda on schools. This is about keeping Christian values and not letting the g- the San Francisco liberals to decide things for us.”

Blair turned her baleful eyes on the sunny freshman, but April intervened, “Thank you, Emma-Lee. Could you go get us a couple of water bottles? It’s a bit of a hot day.”

Emma-Lee turned to her while glancing at the furious Blair. “Are you sure, April, I could…”

“Now, please.” April responded with a smile that brooked no disagreement.

“Yes, April.” Emma-Lee stood up and walked off towards the cafeteria, looking back a couple of times.

April turned her attention back to Blair, and said with a smile, “As Emma-Lee said, this is about keeping outside influences away from schools. If we do not protect our children from age-inappropriate materials, who will?”

“Maybe I should just flip your little table and you can spend the rest of recess chasing pamphlets. This shit isn’t up for debate.” Blair said, her temper kept under wraps for the moment.

“I wouldn’t do that, Blair.” April responded with the same smile, “We have a number to call if anything like that were to happen. I think they send over a full media crew and do a report on cancel culture in high schools.”

“That really sells it as grassroots organizing to keep out big-money interests. I cannot fucking believe you, April. This shit puts people in danger. Do you know how many hate crimes are still committed against LGBTQIA+ people in the US? It happens every fucking day.” Blair still looked ready to flip the table over.

April looked around quickly to see if anyone was standing close by, “I know very well what society is like for queer people, Blair,” she said, her smile gone, “I do what I have to do, and I also believe that lobby organizations from the coasts are not the ones who are supposed to change things in Georgia.”

“You’re doing what you have to do? There are people here, in this fucking school, who want to come out but are afraid to do so because of people like you. It looks to me like you’re nothing but a _quisling_.” Blair hissed.

“Oh, did you just get to World War II in the regular history classes?” April responded with a condescending smirk.

“Whatever, April. People look up to you, for some bizarre reason. Like that perky little freshman you have running errands, what lessons do the great April Stevens have to impart on her. Who will she be when you’re done with her?” Blair sneered.

“Someone who gets into their first-choice university, I imagine. Are you about done?” April looked up at Blair, feeling, if she were honest with herself, a bit more smug than she should about shooting someone down by insulting their smarts. Well, no worse than what she had done in Forensics tournaments.

“Yeah, we’re done, April.” Blair paused as she turned to leave. “I can’t believe she actually thought you were in love with her. I guess we know different, now.”

“This has nothing to do with that!” The loud outburst came before April could stop herself.

“If you love someone, you don’t try to destroy who they are, April. You don’t go out of your way to put them in danger. I don’t care how you identify, if you love someone, you don’t participate in this fucking hate-crime of a project.” Blair stalked off before April had the chance for a rebuttal.

April gazed after her and remained sitting. As soon as someone came close, she said in a perky tone “Hi, would you like a flyer?”

Arguing the affirmative was easy. She had done it for years. She just had to keep doing it.


End file.
